China: A Pastor and his wife buried alive, for protesting against demolishing of a church

A pastor and his wife were buried alive by the Chinese authorities, by reason of their protest against the demolishing of a church.

A Chinese house church pastor Li Jiangongand his wife were buried alive in Henan province of China. Communist government of China had issued an order to demolish their house church; against which they were protesting. After they were buried under tons of dust, the pastor somehow managed to break out, while his wife suffocated to death.

According to China Aid, an organisation reporting on persecution of Christians in China, the grisly incident occurred last week at Beitou Church in Zhumadian in Henan province. China Aid further reported that the government authorities had ordered the church of Pastor Li Jiangong to be knocked down. Later on, Pastor Li Jiangong, in charge of the church and his wife, Ding Cuimei, utterly declined to surrender their church’ grounds to a local constructor.

Consequently, Pastor Li Jiangong and his wife decided to protest against the demolishing decree, in order to prevent the authorities from striking it down. The husband and wife stepped in front of the bulldozers. The bulldozing crew tenaciously shoved them into a pit, afterwards a bulldozer heaped soil on them. China Aid reported that, “Crying for help, Li was able to dig his way free, but Ding suffocated before she could be rescued.”

China Aid further reports that one of the bulldozing team members shouted to his colleagues, relaying orders “bury them alive for me. I will be responsible for their lives.” Nonetheless, two members of the bulldozing team who were responsible for the gruesome crime have been detained by authorities. This case is under investigation by a team from the public security bureau.

While further revealing about this incident, President of China Aid- Bob Fu said, “Bulldozing and burying alive Ding Cuimei, a peaceful and devout Christian woman, was a cruel, murderous act.”

“This case is a serious violation of the rights to life, religious freedom and rule of law. The Chinese authorities should immediately hold those murderers accountable and take concrete measures to protect the religious freedom of this house church’s members.”

“The top leadership is increasingly worried about the rapid growth of Christian faith and their public presence, and their social influence. It is a political fear for the Communist Party, as the number of Christians in the country far outnumber the members of the party,” he added.